These Basil Recipes—Including Salads, Skillet Dinners, and More—Taste Like Summer
You can’t miss with our unique twists on Caprese salad, restaurant-style pastas, and condiments that use up a LOT of your basil bounty.
Herb garden overflowing? Put your extras to use in these easy basil recipes. Ranging from no-cook salads and spreads to nostalgic tomato soup to even a cake that calls for herbs, our best basil recipes showcase how versatile the sweet and peppery herb can truly be.
Baked Mozzarella and Tomato-Basil Antipasti
One of the easiest ways to elevate a charcuterie board into snack dinner territory: add a hot element, such as this simple appetizer recipe. It shines as the centerpiece of a cheese board or as a precursor to an Italian feast. Although it looks and tastes like a restaurant starter, this basil recipe is a breeze to DIY. Just combine pasta sauce, garlic, and mozzarella then bake until the cheese is melty. Finish with olive oil and torn fresh basil, then dive in with crostini or crackers.
Test Kitchen Tip: If you prefer goat cheese over mozzarella, or only have that on-hand, feel free to swap it in. Goat cheese melts and spreads so smoothly!
Cherry Caprese Salad
Asking for zero cooking time, three garden-fresh summer staples, and just 5 ingredients total, this basil recipe is what we imagine the season might look like on a platter. In this fan-favorite Caprese remix, we suggest showcasing pitted cherries and cherry tomatoes; both shine in the juicy, vibrant glory. Burrata cheese and EVOO make each bite taste luxurious, while ½ cup of fresh basil perks up the color palette and the flavor.
Spaghetti and Zucchini Noodles with Basil-Walnut Pesto
Since summer squash and basil season overlap—and since the plants that grow both zucchini and this soft herb tend to be quite prolific throughout summer— we love to highlight both in this vegetarian dinner recipe. A whopping 2 cups of fresh basil shine in the Parmesan-permeated pesto. That sauce coats each strand of both the whole-wheat spaghetti and four zucchinis-worth of zoodles. Combining the regular and zucchini noodles means that you can stretch a mere 8 ounces of noodles to be plenty to feed six.
Fresh Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons
Soup in summer? When it includes 2 pounds of peak-season cherry tomatoes and ¼ cup fresh basil, sure! (That being said, you can totally make this same tomato soup recipe any time of year with canned tomatoes and basil from the supermarket or your indoor herb garden.) No matter when you whip it up, definitely don’t skip the Gruyère grilled cheese croutons. That rich element complements the bright basil, and makes this soup even more nostalgic and enticing.
Thai-Style Chicken Curry with Basil and Jasmine Rice
When summer slips into fall, this cozy curry is one of our go-to dinners to use up late-season leaves. Braise chicken thighs in a coconut milk base that’s stoked with red curry paste, fish sauce, ginger, and peanut butter. Then all that’s left to do is finish the basil recipe with a squeeze of lime juice and (you guessed it!) a generous handful of fresh basil, and pile that glorious stew over rice.
Tomato-Basil Simmer Sauce
Speaking of the end of the season, when we hit early fall and still feel like we’re up to our ears in basil and its BFF, tomatoes, we turn to this homemade canned tomato recipe. That way, we can savor summer’s best even in the middle of winter. Round up 12 pounds of ripe tomatoes, 2 cups of fresh basil leaves, 1 cup of other fresh herbs, and a few other pantry staples, and we’ll coach you through how to can 6 pints of this, one of our all-time best pasta sauce recipes. Once you’ve mastered the original, don’t miss our spicy, roasted garlic, and sun-dried tomato-spiked variations.
Braised Pork Sandwiches with Berry-Basil Sauce
This unique slow cooker pork recipe includes a one-two punch of herbaceousness. A ½ teaspoon of crushed dried basil stands out in the garlicky spice rub, then ½ cup of fresh basil is the pièce de résistance in the raspberry preserves- and blueberry-based sauce. On those scorching hot summer days, try this as a lunch or dinner; the countertop appliance will keep the kitchen much cooler than if you flipped on the oven.
Spicy Basil Noodles with Crispy Fried Eggs
Garnishes rarely make this large of a statement. The ground pork (or turkey or chicken) Thai stir-fry is already scented with the herby powers of 1 cup of fresh basil, which is treated just like a green vegetable. Then on top of a big bed of noodles, add a crispy fried egg and a shower of crispy fried basil leaves. The echo of similar flavors plus the crunch factor make each bite of this basil recipe reminiscent of our favorite restaurant pad kra pao.
Tomato-Basil Jam
We’ll always adore cherry, berry, fig, and apricot preserves, but over time, savory-leaning jams become even more of our jam, too. You need just five ingredients to make five half-pints of this remarkably versatile homemade condiment. “This jam is heavenly! It pairs well with bread and butter, cream cheese and crackers, pan-fried salmon, and even in the middle of a grilled cheese,” one fan raves. “It’s easy to make and delicious!” (P.S. We also adore this on cheese boards, as a layer on Cottage Cheese Pizza Toasts, and stirred into warm, creamy polenta, too.)
Basil-Tomato Chicken Skillet
Ready in just 25 minutes and naturally gluten-free, this easy basil recipe is one of our signature summer dinner party entrées. Tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and spinach infuse loads of color and seasonal flavor into the healthy chicken skillet, which only gets better when you add basil and Parmesan to round out the garlic-infused main. Snag a loaf of sourdough at the market (or if you’re feeling ambitious, whip up your own), and you’re all set to be the no-sweat host with the most.
Chicken and Pasta with Spinach-Basil Pesto
After we tasted how incredible this Spinach-Basil Pesto is without nuts or seeds, we might never go back! Okay, that’s a bold claim, but we are certainly glad to have a zippy, versatile nut-free pesto to share with those who have food allergies or intolerances. It’s ideal as a marinade, pizza sauce, toast-topper, or salad dressing, but we’re particularly fond of the spinach-basil sauce as a key ingredient in a simple pesto pasta with mushrooms, tomatoes, grilled chicken, and even more basil.
Ricotta and Parmesan Spread
Joined by its fellow soft herb pals, oregano and chives, basil brightens up this easy cheese spread. Make it 2 to 12 hours ahead of your gathering, then chill to get a head start and to allow the spread’s flavors to dance together in unison. No need to stress over baking the cheese; simply toast up baguette slices and slather the spread on top. Voila: A wildly-quick warm cheese appetizer.
Basil Chimichurri
BHG / Crystal Hughes
Classic chimichurri centers around cilantro. But we’re here with good news for the folks who think cilantro tastes like soap: Fresh basil (1 ¾ cups) covers the vast majority of the herb territory in this zingy olive oil-based sauce. Just ¼ cup each of fresh parsley, shallot, and cilantro, plus garlic, vinegar, and crushed red pepper, round out the supporting cast.
Test Kitchen Tip: If you’re really opposed to cilantro, just add ¼ cup extra basil.
Olive Oil-Basil Cornmeal Cake with Strawberry Sauce
Perhaps you’ve incorporated thyme or rosemary into sweets before, but how about basil? If you’re feeling skeptical about the concept, we bet one bite of this strawberry dessert will be enough to change your tune. A couple tablespoons of the fresh du jour brighten up the cornmeal cake, and act as a subtle bonus summer element alongside the sweet-tart strawberry sauce.
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